In general, an electron emission device uses a hot cathode or a cold cathode as an electron source. The electron emission device using the cold cathode may employ a field emitter array (FEA) type, a surface conduction emitter (SCE) type, a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) type, a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) type, a ballistic electron surface (BSE) type, and so on.
Using these electron emission devices, an electron emission display, various backlights, an electron beam apparatus for lithography, and the like can be implemented. An electron emission display includes a cathode substrate including an electron emission device to emit electrons, and an anode substrate for allowing the electrons to collide with a fluorescent layer to emit light. Generally, in the electron emission display, the cathode substrate is configured in a matrix shape to which cathode electrodes and gate electrodes intersect each other and includes a plurality of electron emission devices defined in the intersection regions. The anode substrate includes fluorescent layers emitting light by the electrons emitted from the electron emission devices and anode electrodes connected to the fluorescent layers. The electron emission display controls orbits of the emitted electrons to control the corresponding fluorescent layers, and includes mesh electrodes for shielding anode electric fields.
An example of the electron emission display adapting the aforementioned mesh electrode is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-57376.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an electron emission display including a mesh electrode according to a prior art. Referring to FIG. 1, a cathode plate 10 and an anode plate 20 are spaced apart from each other by a spacer 30. Since the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 are vacuum-sealed, the space between them is in vacuum. Therefore, the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 are securely adhered to each other with the spacer 30 between them by inner negative pressure. In the cathode plate 10, a cathode electrode 12 is formed on a bottom plate 11, and a gate-insulating layer 13 is formed on the cathode electrode 12. A through-hole 13a is formed in the gate-insulating layer 13, and the cathode electrode 12 is exposed through the through-hole 13a. An electron emission source 14 such as a carbon nanotube (CNT) is formed on the cathode electrode 12 exposed through the through-hole 13a. A gate electrode 15 having a gate hole 15a (not shown) corresponding to the through-hole 13a is formed on the gate-insulating layer 13.
In the anode plate 20, an anode electrode 22 is formed at an inner surface of a top plate 21, a fluorescent layer 23 is formed on a portion of the anode electrode opposite to the gate hole 15a, and a black matrix 24 for absorbing and blocking external light and preventing optical crosstalk is formed on the remaining part. A mesh grid 40 is interposed between the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20. The mesh grid 40 spaced apart from the anode plate 20 is closely adhered to the cathode plate 10 by the spacer 30. As described above, the space between the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 is in vacuum, therefore, the mesh grid 40 is securely adhered to the cathode plate 10 by the spacer 30. An insulating layer 44 is formed between the mesh grid 40 and the gate electrode 15 of the cathode plate 10. The insulating layer 44 is securely adhered to a surface of the gate electrode 15. The mesh grid 40 has an electron beam control hole 42 corresponding to the gate hole 15a. 
In the aforementioned electron emission display, the mesh grid made of separate parts from a metal plate is securely adhered to the gate electrode and the spacer presses the mesh grid against the cathode plate.
Because the insulating layer formed at one surface of the mesh grid is etched using the mesh grid as a mask to form an opening corresponding to the electron beam control hole, it requires an etching process that uses a mask, which makes the process complicated and lowers yield.